Are Social Networks Good For Our Social Habits?

Living in the modern era has evoked a wide selection of technological resources available for use. One of these resources available is social networking, such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. Are social networks beneficial to the social lives of Americans?

Are social networks increasing or decreasing human interaction? As a functional human being, socialization is necessary. Humans need to talk and express their feelings to others. Ever since the invention of the telephone, people could communicate instantly with no face to face contact. Over time, this has evolved to modern day’s social networking sites. Each of the three major sites, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter offer something different. MySpace provides users with a page where they can express their likes and personalities. Facebook allows users to quickly connect with each other through status updates and instant messaging. Twitter offers a way to quickly express yourself with people who choose to follow (get updates from) you. Quickly communicating has increased human interaction through social networking.

But are social networks destroying social circles and direct, face-to-face interaction between humans? Why go out to see your friends when you can have a video conference on ooVoo (a video conferencing application), talk to them through instant messaging on AIM (an instant message client), or play games with them through such services as Xbox Live (a service that lets you play games online)?

Though you can do all this from the comfort of your own home, people enjoy going out. Eating at restaurants, going to the theater, or shopping at the mall are all activities that require you to step away from your computer and physically go out. Of course you could make yourself a TV dinner and have a video conference, watch a movie on Xbox, while talking to someone through Xbox Live voice chat, or shop on Amazon while instant messaging, but it is not the same.

Even though social networking sites have become increasingly popular, people still enjoy going out and actively socializing face to face. In my opinion, social networks could never replace direct human contact.

My name is Alexander Melton, and I am Mac user (yes, I have to put that first because it is very important to me). I am in 9th grade and am a full-fledged honor student. I have a 101.4 GPA (our school does not do 4.0 GPA, we do it like everything is averaged out of a hundred). I play the viola, which is like a violin that plays lower notes. I love technology how I use it in my life. I cannot go a day without using my iPhone. I also enjoy gaming. My favorite game is Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.